"What is always at the heart of delusion or false religion is the promise that you don't really have to learn to trust the Lord; our faith doesn't have to grow over time. You don't have to learn to deal with the flesh with all it's memories and deceptions. You can leap from childhood to maturity over night. You can instantly become everything you want to be."
-Zeisler
Jesus did not promise a trial-less life. He promised a redeemed one.
Redeem:
1. to recover ownership of by paying a specified sum
2. To turn in and receive something in exchange
3. To set free; rescue
4. To restore the honor, worth, or reputation of
I became a minister shortly after giving my life to Christ. I loved serving people in a way that brought them closer to the Lord... to their Savior. God proved to be an active God. I saw Him do miraculous things. He was not a God off in the heavenlies sitting on a cushy couch eating bon bons. He was not a God looking down on us little humans zapping "bad" people and blessing "good" people at a wave of a wand. No. I saw Him break through the lives of those most wouldn't associate with, have time for, or look at twice. He loves to notice the unnoticed. He proved to be a God who desires to restore broken humanity from the weights of life we were never created to bear. Life was good.
Church. Church is tricky because people are well... people. I will never understand why the Lord chose us humans to be His hands, heart, and voice to others. No wonder He has a bad reputation in the minds of many. He is probably the most misrepresented and misunderstood Being in the universe. The Church has had a struggle with balance. Some churches impart more judgement than love, while others impart more love than truth. You can't have truth without love, and you can't have love without truth if you want to know the REAL Jesus. I have seen many people's faith shipwrecked over the imbalance. It grieves me. I can personally understand how we can lose our focus on who Jesus really is...
I had been a pastor/leader for a few years now and at first it was great. But then there was a weariness in my soul that was creeping in on me. I would push it away thinking I just needed a day of rest, but it proved relentless. I grew more fatigued as time passed. I noticed I was getting nervous a lot, fearful at times, and angry. I would try and read the Bible or worship, but I just couldn't. My love for people grew cold and I seemed to "numb". I started to isolate. Sounds like depression? Well it was.
The church where I was serving at the time was WAY out of balance. (Rabbit trail: Passion and pride are lethal in the Body of Christ. If you exhibit a spiritual elitism... stop it. Stop it right now and sit at the Cross. Seriously. For the sake of humanity.) I also was trying to be everyone's savior. Yep, I had caught "the martyr mentality" like the flu. I didn't want it. But I got it. On top of all this, I had major cracks in my soul the Lord still desired to heal. I was too busy "serving" at this point to give Him the time. The enemy of my soul took advantage of this time of vulnerability and came in like a flood with lies and magnified every inadequacy and weakness of mine. God wasn't good anymore. He was a taskmaster putting demands on me I wasn't able to accomplish. I must have failed along the way to feel this lack of grace and blessing in the work He called me to. Everything about the Lord and who I was as His child was challenged.
I would like to say this only lasted a short time, but it lasted a few years. Although this time was painful, the Lord used it to strengthen His message of redemption in my own life. I would later realize the Lord wanted me to know Him as Healer as well as Savior on a personal level. I would also learn to trust Him in a deeper way. I would go through the fire but the love of God would prove stronger than Satan's lies and my personal weaknesses.
More to come about the revelation that changed my life... again.
Kim Winston Bigler
FREEtheINSIDE Ministries
(this entry dedicated to all the Christian servants who lay down their lives for another)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
HE HAS A GOOD PLAN FOR US!
I wanted to get 2 posts in this week, but I had to prepare to preach on Wednesday for FREEtheINSIDE's 1st service. It was an amazing time, and the Lord moved powerfully among us. He is faithful.
Have you ever had a season where you looked at your life and said,
"What happened to me?"
"How did this happen?"
as if you had really great intentions at some point... your eyes were set to walk a path abundant with promise, yet something happened and you got off course. It was subtle and progressive, but somehow you got out in the deep with no life jacket.
I certainly have been in this place. I certainly have asked these questions. A few times. Ok, more times than I would really like to admit. As humbling as these times are, these questions have always led to major transitions in my life where there was a change for the better. It brings me to a point where I am now able to admit I am a horrible navigator as far as my life is concerned. I then become aware that my Creator has a purpose for me and He is able to bring about the change on my inside that enables me to fulfill it. It really wasn't until that full revelation of who Jesus was and what He did, did I understand I really wasn't left to myself to figure everything out for my life. Thank God! A weight lifts from my heart and mind knowing that His hands can guide. His hands can lead as I trust that every step will be revealed at it's proper time. But this clarity can be a fight to maintain. It can be a fight to hang on to this truth... and this surrender.
TRUTH:
Do you know that the Lord has a good plan for us? Sometimes irresponsible preachers or pastors can paint a condemning picture of how God thinks about us... and His intentions toward us. Like He has a checklist in hand, waiting to bless us or curse us based on our performance in life. Wrong. LIE. Don't get me wrong, any sin has consequences. Without Jesus they have eternal ones. Yet the unfortunate things that happen in life come mostly from our OWN bad choices (or someone else's). The Lord does not have a paddle in His hand waiting to spank us when we "get out of line". He does however want us to receive the work of Jesus on the Cross because that is where we find the forgiveness, love, and redemption which empowers us to get back on track, back on the path we found ourselves so far from. Whether someone else's bad decisions or sin have affected us greatly or our own, our lives can be restored in the hands of Jesus.
This is the Lord's TRUE intention toward us (Jeremiah 29:11):
New International Version (©1984)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
New Living Translation (©2007)
For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
English Standard Version (©2001)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
What are His plans toward us? Let's say it together and NEVER FORGET IT... FOR GOOD! TO PROSPER! NOT TO HARM! NOT FOR DISASTER! FOR WELFARE! NOT FOR EVIL! TO GIVE US HOPE! TO GIVE US A FUTURE! This is the TRUTH. This is the HOPE that's in CHRIST. All we have to do is call upon Him. After declaring His good plan for His people in that verse He continues:
"Then when you call upon me and come pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore you..." (Jeremiah 29:12-14)
See what a good God He is. He really is for us, not against us. But the devil always tries to get us to think that the Lord isn't good... that the bad things that have happened in our lives are His fault. LIE. That's why there is a fight of faith that we must endure.
Personal Story:
My personal story regarding my own fight to hold onto the truth that God is good all the time and His plan for me was a good one is long and intense. With this said, my next post will ONLY be my PERSONAL STORY of how this truth was tested... not by God but by the enemy of my soul. If you have never believed there was an enemy of God, well I am ready to challenge that. Next post of my personal story will hopefully be posted by Sunday:)
Word for Today:
The Lord is good all the time. The times we have felt that He was less than good are lies. These lies come from a wrong knowledge about God either imparted by misguided ministers, our own made up ideas about who God is and His ways, or Satan who the Bible calls the "father of lies". We need to know the REAL Jesus, the REAL Father, and the very REAL Holy Spirit that helps impart the LIFE we have been given in Christ. Bring us back to life Lord!
Kim Winston Bigler
FREEtheINSIDE Ministries
(this entry is dedicated to the clients of the Pregnancy Resource Center of San Fernando)
Have you ever had a season where you looked at your life and said,
"What happened to me?"
"How did this happen?"
as if you had really great intentions at some point... your eyes were set to walk a path abundant with promise, yet something happened and you got off course. It was subtle and progressive, but somehow you got out in the deep with no life jacket.
I certainly have been in this place. I certainly have asked these questions. A few times. Ok, more times than I would really like to admit. As humbling as these times are, these questions have always led to major transitions in my life where there was a change for the better. It brings me to a point where I am now able to admit I am a horrible navigator as far as my life is concerned. I then become aware that my Creator has a purpose for me and He is able to bring about the change on my inside that enables me to fulfill it. It really wasn't until that full revelation of who Jesus was and what He did, did I understand I really wasn't left to myself to figure everything out for my life. Thank God! A weight lifts from my heart and mind knowing that His hands can guide. His hands can lead as I trust that every step will be revealed at it's proper time. But this clarity can be a fight to maintain. It can be a fight to hang on to this truth... and this surrender.
TRUTH:
Do you know that the Lord has a good plan for us? Sometimes irresponsible preachers or pastors can paint a condemning picture of how God thinks about us... and His intentions toward us. Like He has a checklist in hand, waiting to bless us or curse us based on our performance in life. Wrong. LIE. Don't get me wrong, any sin has consequences. Without Jesus they have eternal ones. Yet the unfortunate things that happen in life come mostly from our OWN bad choices (or someone else's). The Lord does not have a paddle in His hand waiting to spank us when we "get out of line". He does however want us to receive the work of Jesus on the Cross because that is where we find the forgiveness, love, and redemption which empowers us to get back on track, back on the path we found ourselves so far from. Whether someone else's bad decisions or sin have affected us greatly or our own, our lives can be restored in the hands of Jesus.
This is the Lord's TRUE intention toward us (Jeremiah 29:11):
New International Version (©1984)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
New Living Translation (©2007)
For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
English Standard Version (©2001)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
What are His plans toward us? Let's say it together and NEVER FORGET IT... FOR GOOD! TO PROSPER! NOT TO HARM! NOT FOR DISASTER! FOR WELFARE! NOT FOR EVIL! TO GIVE US HOPE! TO GIVE US A FUTURE! This is the TRUTH. This is the HOPE that's in CHRIST. All we have to do is call upon Him. After declaring His good plan for His people in that verse He continues:
"Then when you call upon me and come pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore you..." (Jeremiah 29:12-14)
See what a good God He is. He really is for us, not against us. But the devil always tries to get us to think that the Lord isn't good... that the bad things that have happened in our lives are His fault. LIE. That's why there is a fight of faith that we must endure.
Personal Story:
My personal story regarding my own fight to hold onto the truth that God is good all the time and His plan for me was a good one is long and intense. With this said, my next post will ONLY be my PERSONAL STORY of how this truth was tested... not by God but by the enemy of my soul. If you have never believed there was an enemy of God, well I am ready to challenge that. Next post of my personal story will hopefully be posted by Sunday:)
Word for Today:
The Lord is good all the time. The times we have felt that He was less than good are lies. These lies come from a wrong knowledge about God either imparted by misguided ministers, our own made up ideas about who God is and His ways, or Satan who the Bible calls the "father of lies". We need to know the REAL Jesus, the REAL Father, and the very REAL Holy Spirit that helps impart the LIFE we have been given in Christ. Bring us back to life Lord!
Kim Winston Bigler
FREEtheINSIDE Ministries
(this entry is dedicated to the clients of the Pregnancy Resource Center of San Fernando)
Saturday, March 19, 2011
WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BEING "MADE"
I have received many personal messages regarding this topic of "IDENTITY". When hearing your stories, I see a very personal God at work in each of your lives. What a mind-blower that God, who is the CREATOR of the universe, wants you to know Him! You are starting to see the bigger picture of how we relate to a very real God. You are in a great place!
I came up with the title "MADE" for this blog because I saw a show once on MTV called "MADE" that influenced how I saw God's work in us. In this particular episode, a self-proclaimed geek, sporting all his awkwardness and social phobias, wanted to be transformed into his dream identity... a popular football jock. A team of "experts" were brought in to create this transformation. By the look of the task, it seemed impossible. I was watching even with a hint of disbelief... I'm just sayin'. During this time, the makeover team put him into a harsh schedule of exercise, football practice, and "how to be social with peeps" classes. To my amazement at the end of the show, he changed. He wasn't an awkward self-proclaimed geek anymore but a confident athlete. He was MADE!... well, that was at least what the show portrayed:)
TRUTH:
We, as Christians, are in the process of being MADE too. We are not left to our own devices, reasonings, and inadequacies to transition into who God made us to be. HE MAKES US. This "creating" process is in His hands. He is this "makeover team", but oh so much better! He is like a painter with a well skilled hand to paint a masterpiece. Every stroke is made with intention, patience, and the highest creative skill level in the universe. WHAT! How crazy is that! His process isn't rigorous, as religion would have us to believe. Nope. The process is most successful when we simply trust the Lord's intentions and love for us, and learn to live by His grace.
The Bible says we are HIS WORKMANSHIP (Ephesians 2:10)...
New International Version (©1984)
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
New Living Translation (©2007)
For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
English Standard Version (©2001)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
So is this just messing me up or are you seeing this too.. THAT WE ARE CREATED A NEW PERSON IN CHRIST, AND GOD WORKS ON US TO BE HIS MASTERPIECE SO WE CAN DO WHAT HE PREPARED FOR US LONG AGO TO DO!!!!!! There is nothing that He has "made" that lacks the beauty, strength, and radiance that comes from His own Being. Do you know that God doesn't create yard sale junk. Nope. He is only in the business of creating masterpieces. The kicker about God is that He creates masterpieces FROM yard sale junk! I think I was broken lamp with a hula dancer on it with tassles hanging from the shade:)
OK... so what are we to do if God is doing all the "doing" here?
We trust Him. We let Him in. We believe that when Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, He accomplished the impossible for us. God created a way for us to be MADE as He intended. We trust that when we put ourselves in His hands, we will start seeing a transformation.
Personal Story:
I was a mess before the Lord got a hold of my heart. A hot mess! But when I gave Jesus my life, some things suddenly changed (and ... some things didn't). What instantly came to me was the ability to see that the Lord had a definite plan for me. That I was wasn't just made out of dust particles and success wasn't just making money to have a nice house and a great wardrobe. Life was SO much deeper and love was much more powerful than ever imagined. My eyes were opened to see that LIFE was a person and LOVE was a Being. The Bible says that Jesus IS THE LIFE of men and that God IS LOVE. These two truths infused my life for the first time after that experienced I shared from the last post. ( I promise I will get to that horrible season of testing later.)
Word for Today:
The Lord wants to be your life and God wants you to know love. Receive this LIFE and trust this LOVE. Trust the Lord to restore you. He will have the task at hand to help you to know and receive true love... the kind that never leaves or forsakes, abandons or neglects, or is conditional and selfish. No, He isn't like man where His love is flawed. The life that we get from Christ helps us to receive this love and truth. May it transform you from the inside out!
And remember... He doesn't make junk, so you are in good hands.
Kim Winston Bigler
FreetheInside Ministries
(the entry is dedicated to the young folks at Hammond Presbyterian)
I came up with the title "MADE" for this blog because I saw a show once on MTV called "MADE" that influenced how I saw God's work in us. In this particular episode, a self-proclaimed geek, sporting all his awkwardness and social phobias, wanted to be transformed into his dream identity... a popular football jock. A team of "experts" were brought in to create this transformation. By the look of the task, it seemed impossible. I was watching even with a hint of disbelief... I'm just sayin'. During this time, the makeover team put him into a harsh schedule of exercise, football practice, and "how to be social with peeps" classes. To my amazement at the end of the show, he changed. He wasn't an awkward self-proclaimed geek anymore but a confident athlete. He was MADE!... well, that was at least what the show portrayed:)
TRUTH:
We, as Christians, are in the process of being MADE too. We are not left to our own devices, reasonings, and inadequacies to transition into who God made us to be. HE MAKES US. This "creating" process is in His hands. He is this "makeover team", but oh so much better! He is like a painter with a well skilled hand to paint a masterpiece. Every stroke is made with intention, patience, and the highest creative skill level in the universe. WHAT! How crazy is that! His process isn't rigorous, as religion would have us to believe. Nope. The process is most successful when we simply trust the Lord's intentions and love for us, and learn to live by His grace.
The Bible says we are HIS WORKMANSHIP (Ephesians 2:10)...
New International Version (©1984)
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
New Living Translation (©2007)
For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
English Standard Version (©2001)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
So is this just messing me up or are you seeing this too.. THAT WE ARE CREATED A NEW PERSON IN CHRIST, AND GOD WORKS ON US TO BE HIS MASTERPIECE SO WE CAN DO WHAT HE PREPARED FOR US LONG AGO TO DO!!!!!! There is nothing that He has "made" that lacks the beauty, strength, and radiance that comes from His own Being. Do you know that God doesn't create yard sale junk. Nope. He is only in the business of creating masterpieces. The kicker about God is that He creates masterpieces FROM yard sale junk! I think I was broken lamp with a hula dancer on it with tassles hanging from the shade:)
OK... so what are we to do if God is doing all the "doing" here?
We trust Him. We let Him in. We believe that when Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, He accomplished the impossible for us. God created a way for us to be MADE as He intended. We trust that when we put ourselves in His hands, we will start seeing a transformation.
Personal Story:
I was a mess before the Lord got a hold of my heart. A hot mess! But when I gave Jesus my life, some things suddenly changed (and ... some things didn't). What instantly came to me was the ability to see that the Lord had a definite plan for me. That I was wasn't just made out of dust particles and success wasn't just making money to have a nice house and a great wardrobe. Life was SO much deeper and love was much more powerful than ever imagined. My eyes were opened to see that LIFE was a person and LOVE was a Being. The Bible says that Jesus IS THE LIFE of men and that God IS LOVE. These two truths infused my life for the first time after that experienced I shared from the last post. ( I promise I will get to that horrible season of testing later.)
Word for Today:
The Lord wants to be your life and God wants you to know love. Receive this LIFE and trust this LOVE. Trust the Lord to restore you. He will have the task at hand to help you to know and receive true love... the kind that never leaves or forsakes, abandons or neglects, or is conditional and selfish. No, He isn't like man where His love is flawed. The life that we get from Christ helps us to receive this love and truth. May it transform you from the inside out!
And remember... He doesn't make junk, so you are in good hands.
Kim Winston Bigler
FreetheInside Ministries
(the entry is dedicated to the young folks at Hammond Presbyterian)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
“Reclaiming Your Identity”
3/16/2011
Truth:
A terrible thing happened at the Fall. We gave up our union with God, our God-born identity, and our God-given authority here on earth… for a LIE. The enemy of our souls, Satan, is charged with the most widespread crime of identity theft this world has ever known. Through Satan’s deception and man’s disobedience, sin entered the world and we have seen this loss wreak havoc in every generation since. God intends for us to get it all back! God wants us to know the truth… about who He TRULY is and who we TRULY are in Him. It’s this Truth that sets us free!
God has given us a unique identity. This identity comes from WHO WE ARE as His kids, which is given expression in WHAT WE DO. Sin has destroyed this identity, but Jesus died to reclaim it. The only way we can FULLY reclaim WHO WE ARE is when we make Jesus, God’s Son, the Lord of our lives. This relationship with Jesus is based on LOVE. It does not start with us first loving Him, but Him first loving us. He is the ONLY way back to a true communion with God, our Father and Creator. When we give our lives to Jesus, we are giving our lives BACK to our Creator. When we do this, an amazing grace is given to us in order that the Lord of our lives can shape and mold us into our true God-given selves and to live out His purposes as His kids. This grace is absolutely necessary and primary as He puts us on the process of being “MADE”. The restoration has begun.
Personal Story:
I was living in New York City when I had a miraculous event happen to me. I had an overwhelming experience with the presence of God. I met Jesus. Not the religious Jesus I heard about growing up, but the relational Jesus. I saw Him on the cross and I knew my sin put Him there. I received nothing but love and forgiveness in that moment. His LOVE changed me. My life went into a completely different direction from there as He went to work on my insides, leading to huge changes on the outside. I was being “MADE”…. God was restoring me to what He intended. I went from wounded, angry, self-absorbed, and confused party girl to a joy-filled, grateful child of God with a new capacity to love and be loved. He even made me a preacher of the gospel. WHAT!… for reals.
As great as this initial experience was, every truth revealed to me in this season would be tested. ANOTHER season was coming in my life where the biggest identity thief would challenge EVERYTHING the Lord had said to me… and done in me.
(More to come…)
Word for Today:
GET IT BACK!!!
Everything that has been stolen from your life through lies, sin, and confusion… get it back! Put your trust in the Lord. Go somewhere or talk to someone (hit me up on Facebook) who can help you get reconnected to Him AND TELL YOU THE TRUTH. Ask Him yourself, “Show me Lord who you are and help me reclaim all that has been lost in my life!”
Let Jesus take hold of you and don’t look back. It’s time!
Kim Winston Bigler
FREEtheINSIDE Ministries
(this entry is dedicated to the “Relentless” youth at Hope Chapel)
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